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Archiviste
Archiviste is the fifth chapter of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas. Synopsis Noé is sleeping in the forests of Averoigne someone approaches him, having heard that he's not drinking blood at all lately. Opening his eyes to see Louis standing overtop of him, Noé asks why it's such a big deal, as it is not as though he'll die without blood. Louis admits this much to be true, but admits that he's curious as to the reason, as he knows that Noé likes blood as much as he likes tarte tatin. Noé reasons that it is because he's an Archiviste, but before he can delve any further, Louis sits beside Noé and uses his knife to cut into the palm of his hand; offering his blood to Noé. When Noé seems wary, Louis tells him not to worry, because even if Noé drinks his blood, he won't see anything anymore. With Louis' reassurance, Noé sits up and begins to drink his friend's blood. Noé then wakes up in a small hotel room, realizing that it was all a dream. Murr then meows loudly and smashes a vase in order to grasp Noé's attention. Suddenly, Noé hears a knocking from outside his window - seeing Vanitas hanging upside down from the outside - who's glad to see that Noé is finally awake and asks him to come out for some breakfast. Noé and Vanitas eat their breakfast on the rooftop of Hotel Chouchou, with Noé remarking on how pretty Paris is, as he'd previously heard that it was much sootier and the air quality was bad, so he'd assumed that it wouldn't be as nice as it is. Hearing this, Vanitas tells Noé that the city used to be more like that not too long ago, but mostly everything now is run on Astermite, with tighter restrictions being placed on the use of coal in order to protect the townscape. Unlike coal, Astermite doesn't pollute the air, and it is used for everything; from powering airship lift generators and street lamps to the cars and trams that fill the streets of Paris. Vanitas remarks that as research continues, they'll likely find more uses for Astermite, calling the rock that it is derived from a real "Panacea Stone". With this in mind, Noé mentions his astonishment over how a rack was able to create a mineral that hadn't existed in the world before, further mentioning that the Babel incident was astounding as well for rewriting the principles of the world as it did. Vanitas just stares coldly at Noé before standing to stretch and suggesting that they head over to Galerie Vivienne to speak with Count Orlok. The night before, when Vanitas and Noé showed up at Galerie Vivienne, Nox and Manet shooed them away - telling them to come back in the morning. Nox gave them the address of Hotel Chouchou - which would put them up for the night - while Manet sent Murr along with them; as they had left Murr behind and he'd found his way back to one of Orlok's rooms. With this in mind, Noé asks Vanitas if he thinks that something has happened, which Vanitas says seems to be the case.Despite this, Vanitas assures Noé that there's likely no need to worry about Amelia anymore - though Noé can't help but worry about her, as well as Thomas Berneux. Upon entering Count Orlok's office, Orlok reveals that Thomas Berneux is dead, with Manet adding that by the time he and Nox had found Berneux he was already turning to ashes, and that from the method of his death it does not appear to have been suicide. A worried Noé asks who could have killed Berneux, but Orlok assures him that they don't know and that they're presently looking into the matter. Understanding that Noé is worried about Amelia, Vanitas asks Count Orlok what would become of her, prompting Orlok to motion to the door - explaining that Nox and Manet had reported to him about the powers of the Book of Vanitas, and while he's skeptical he's ultimately decided to suspend Amelia's execution for the time being. As Nox brings Amelia into the room, she's ecstatic to see both Noé and Murr again - though as they celebrate, Orlok reveals that because they can't be sure that Amelia won't lose control again she will have to stay where they can keep an eye on her. Turning to Nox, Orlok states that Hotel Chouchou is looking for maids at the moment, and so Nox makes note of this and will make preparations for Amelia to be employed at Hotel Chouchou as live-in help so that she can be monitored Vanitas mentions that Parks Orlok is exactly as he'd heard, when Noé asks what Vanitas means, Vanitas elaborates that Orlok knows that Amelia's neighbors would have gotten wind about her condition as a Curse-Bearer, and so she has no where else to go - thus Count Parks Orlok is being easy on his own kind to the very end by providing Amelia with sanctuary - which Vanitas thinks makes Orlok seem like a joke. Orlok slams his fist into his desk, revealing that the same goes for Vanitas as well, confusing Vanitas and prompting Orlok to explain that while he recognizes a small portion of The Book of Vanitas' power, he doesn't intend on allowing Vanitas to just run around freely. Which doesn't surprise Vanitas, as he'd expected that he hadn't been killed because Orlok viewed his use of The Book of Vanitas as beneficial to him. Vanitas tells Orlok that he can use him as much as he'd like, as it will provide a quick resolution to any incidents involving Curse-Bearers, while also providing himself with information regarding Curse-Bearers and thereby saving him the trouble of looking for patients. Vanitas addresses the fact that they don't need to be friends, and that if one of them goes against the other, they will just part ways. With this, Orlok gives Vanitas a letter, suggesting that he give it to the front desk at Hotel Chouchou, as he intends to have them keep a room available for Vanitas and Noé while they're in Paris; which Vanitas knows is so that Orlok could keep an eye on them. This sparks confusion in Noé, who hadn't really had any further intention of working with Vanitas - though Orlok had assumed that he was Vanitas' guardian. When Noé attempts to deny this, Vanitas agrees and states that, if anything, he's more like Noé's guardian. Vanitas then changes the subject and suggests that they get down to talking to business, which confuses Count Orlok, only for Vanitas to remind him that he'd come to speak with Amelia, which Orlok allows; knowing that their "talk" has to do with Curse-Bearers. Sitting Amelia on a sofa in Count Orlok's office, Vanitas reminds Amelia that in the letter she'd written to him she'd stated that she'd known about being a Curse-Bearer for the past two months. As Amelia confirms this, Vanitas asks if anything had happened just prior to that, though when Amelia doesn't seem to understand what Vanitas is getting at he elaborates by asking if she'd seen "Charlatan". Delving further into his explanation, Vanitas reveals that in speaking with the Vampires that he'd treated thus far, he'd noticed that prior to noticing their symptoms several of them admitted to encountering the same thing. Vanitas recounts his patients' past experiences as being surrounded by a thick fog all of a sudden and then seeing the Parade of the Charlatan. Orlok asks if Vanitas thinks that it is this "Charlatan" that is making Curse-Bearers appear, which Vanitas admits to not knowing; being the reason why he's asking Amelia. Grasping her head in frustration, Amelia apologizes, as she feels as though she did encounter something similar to what Vanitas is talking about, but she can't remember it; Vanitas encourages her to try a little harder, but to no avail. Count Orlok then looks to Noé and asks him to take a look, revealing Noé's name to be Noé Archiviste; stunning both Noé and Vanitas. Noé asks Count Orlok how he could know about him, prompting Orlok to reveal that before Noé and Vanitas had come to Galerie Vivienne the day before, he'd received a letter from The Teacher that had Noé's name and requested that he assist Noé in everyday matters while in Paris. Vanitas simply clenches his teeth in shock, muttering the name "Archiviste" to himself. Amelia then asks Noé if there really is a way for him to see into her memoires, encouraging him to do so if there is; admitting that she'd be very happy if there was a way she could be of use to him. Upon further begging, Noé agrees, sitting beside Amelia and gently biting her arm to drink her blood - shocking and confusing Amelia, as well as Manet. While Amelia trembles at the mercy of Noé, Vanitas looks upon the scene with a cold sense of seriousness. While Noé delves deeper into Amelia's memory, Manet asks Nox what an Archiviste is, and so Nox explains that the Archivistes were a clan of Vampires that could read a person's memory by drinking their blood... only she had thought that they'd perished long ago. Noé finally finds the memory he's been looking for, pushing through and finding Amelia walking alone with a basket full of apples. Looking up, Amelia gasps and questions where she is, reasoning that she'd been on her way home and now she's lost in a thick fog; meanwhile Noé question if this really happened or if this was something that Amelia dreamed up. Then, numerous horrifying figures begin to emerge from the fog, amalgamations of claws, skulls, machinery and music. While Noé questions what's going on, a path opens in the crowd, opening Amelia's sight to a dark figure, who welcomes her to the Parade of the Charlatan. Screaming, Amelia attempts to run, with Noé feeling her terror every step of the way, as she knows that the black figure is something very wrong and that if he were to catch her, she'd be done for. Reaching a lamp post, Amelia feels as though she's made a safe distance from the black figure and puts down her basket for a moment so that she can catch her breath. However, the black figure curls his body around the lamp post from above, ecstatic to have found Amelia. The black figure opens its mouth wide and asks Amelia to show him her true name. Meanwhile, Noé is overcome with his thoughts, as the lines between him and Amelia begin to blur and he fears Charlatan, taking on Amelia's thought and knowing that it would would defile him, break him and destroy him. Noé grabs onto his head and screams in terror - terrifying Amelia, Manet and Nox in the process. While Amelia attempts to help Noé as he covers his mouth and collapses into her lap, Vanitas stares at the scene with concern. Just then, someone knocks on the door, and a frustrated Nox goes to the door to tell their visitor that they're busy. As she slams open the door however, the visitor begs her pardon, stating that they'd told her that Noé was there, so she'd decided to stop by. As this goes on, Noé becomes a victim of his own mind, repeating how Charlatan had stolen Amelia's true name and that it was all its fault. The woman at the door plays with a piece of Nox's hair as she's visually shocked to see who had come to Galerie Vivienne. Before Nox can address the visitor, she asks if Nox is aware of who she is, coming to the conclusion that it doesn't matter either way as she should properly introduce herself, revealing her name to be Dominique de Sade - Noé's fiancé. Characters *Naenia}} Terms Quotes Gallery Trivia * Alternate Title: Fangs That Reveal Blood *Noé's reference to the Babel Incident, which Vanitas seemed to disagree with, may be a reference to the destruction of the Tower of Babel. *Noé's full name is revealed to be Noé Archiviste. Phonetically, it is similar to the idea of Noah's Ark. *Count Orlok's Guards are revealed to be named Nox and Manet. Navigation Category:The Case Study of Vanitas Category:Manga